He listened to see if he could hear any sound, even hoping to hear some sound from his servants.

All was as silent as a tomb.
He rubbed his eyes, with a groan that was almost a curse.

The figures were still there.
He suddenly rose to his feet and gave himself a shake.

He determined to go to his club; he would find company there,--perhaps not the best, but it would be better than this awful loneliness and deadly silence.
He went through the hall softly, almost stealthily; put on his hat and coat; let himself quietly out of the door and stepped forth into the night.
It had stopped snowing and the stars looked down from a clearing sky.
The moon just above the housetops was sailing along a burnished track.
The vehicles went slowly by with a muffled sound broken only by the creaking of the wheels in the frosty night.

From the cross streets, sounded in the distance the jangle of sleigh-bells..